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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by BenzosSSRIsohMY! on August 22, 2007, at 17:08:19
I've been on antidepressants and klonopen since 93, I'm 43 now. I want to get OFF the drugs with the hopes of getting out of the "pigeon" holed as a patient.
I used to have fun, I haven't been productive, fun or social since I started the pills.
Can anyone relate?
Posted by d0pamine on August 22, 2007, at 17:46:14
In reply to Getting OFF the meds, Anyone else doing it?, posted by BenzosSSRIsohMY! on August 22, 2007, at 17:08:19
15 years on meds..just stopped a couple weeks ago, upon realizing my problem was a magnesium / calcium ratio problem the whole time. Living life and feeling great.
Posted by Guy on August 22, 2007, at 21:23:34
In reply to Getting OFF the meds, Anyone else doing it?, posted by BenzosSSRIsohMY! on August 22, 2007, at 17:08:19
I would love to get off meds, but every time I try I am defeated by insomnia and anxiety that is right off the charts. I literally go for days on end without sleep until I either take a pill or end up in emergency (where they just give me more pills and send me home). A lot depends on how ill you were before you started taking pharmaceuticals...some people with mild to moderate symptoms should never have been put on meds in the first place. If your symptoms were minor, you may able to step off meds without too many problems. If they were major, don't expect your issues to simply go away. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't touch psychotropic meds with a barge pole. I have told my daughters to steer clear of these substances no matter how bad things get.
Posted by yznhymer on August 22, 2007, at 21:52:50
In reply to Re: Getting OFF the meds, Anyone else doing it?, posted by d0pamine on August 22, 2007, at 17:46:14
> 15 years on meds..just stopped a couple weeks ago, upon realizing my problem was a magnesium / calcium ratio problem the whole time. Living life and feeling great.
I may have missed your post elsewhere. How did you figure out that was the issue? Does this mean beloved SAMMIE is jilted again?
Y
Posted by yznhymer on August 22, 2007, at 22:06:22
In reply to Getting OFF the meds, Anyone else doing it?, posted by BenzosSSRIsohMY! on August 22, 2007, at 17:08:19
> I've been on antidepressants and klonopen since 93, I'm 43 now. I want to get OFF the drugs with the hopes of getting out of the "pigeon" holed as a patient.
>
> I used to have fun, I haven't been productive, fun or social since I started the pills.
>
> Can anyone relate?I sure can relate, and I've always found the side effects of meds a real downer.
I've stopped meds several times before. Usually I went through a "honeymoon" period when I felt great. The side effects melted away, I may have had some residual benefits from the meds, and the depression didn't kick back in for some time.
Invariably, in time I found myself on meds again. Usually some stressor would kick off a downward cycle and it would reach a point that was untenable - I could no longer manage work, finances, etc. Still, there were periods when I'd prefer to deal with depression and reorder my life around it rather than deal with the meds. I can't say any one answer is the right one. Its clearly a calculation each individual has to make for him/herself.
Nevertheless, there are non-med things that do help depression and anxiety if those are the issues, and I'd strongly recommend trying all of them proactively to support yourself as much as possible. Individually, they may not be the answer, but synergistically, they may provide considerable benefit - things like nutrition, supplements, exercise, relaxation techniques,cognitive behavioral therapy, etc.
I'd look at it more as replacing meds with other forms of self-care. A lot of this stuff is just taking good care of your mind, body, and spirit anyway.
Best of luck to you.
Y~r
Posted by Phillipa on August 23, 2007, at 0:04:33
In reply to Re: Getting OFF the meds, Anyone else doing it? » BenzosSSRIsohMY!, posted by yznhymer on August 22, 2007, at 22:06:22
Excercise aerobic and good nutrition help and keeping pdoc appointments. Phillipa
Posted by sam123 on August 23, 2007, at 10:14:51
In reply to Re: Getting OFF the meds, Anyone else doing it?, posted by Phillipa on August 23, 2007, at 0:04:33
They work well for me and I have few, if any, side effects. This despite being on several meds.
Wellbutrin
Provigil
Atavan
Lunesta
Lamictal
doxepin as needed for sleep problems when I take steroids (for unrealted condition)I have been through 2 or 3 poop outs over the decades so I have a good idea what happen when they quit working.
Posted by Fivefires on August 23, 2007, at 13:14:33
In reply to Getting OFF the meds, Anyone else doing it?, posted by BenzosSSRIsohMY! on August 22, 2007, at 17:08:19
Oh dear, just lost a long response to u! :(
Tried in past, but I think I may be 'deeper in the grasp this vicious cycle' and I wish I'd done what you're doing, and stayed that way, after 14yrs.
Wanted to say, altho' your condition prior to beginning these meds is a consideration, 14yrs is not a terribly long time, especially when compared to 30yrs on these, so maybe this could be to your advantage. If u were feeling bad becuz' of 'a life event' b4 beginning SSRI/benzo, this may be to your advantage as well.
I'm not saying this won't be uncomfortable, maybe just a little less. I had nearly a 30yr hx and needed detox w/ medical doctor monitoring.
U have an opportunity to get out now, before you get to where I am, feeling 'damaged even further', feeling 'dependency', and having spent too many years in unhappiness.
The cal:mag, 2:1, alternative suggestion is a great one. (I believe I have the ratio correct. Will some1 correct if wrong pls?) I have Country Life Mag Caps 300 mg w/ silica and could feel immediate relief. Also, taurine, a white powder you can purchase at a health food store, a tspfull really helps anxiety. See the alternative board, or maybe you've already posted there.
Get out of the trap and off the benzos before you have no other answer. I am alone. I've missed some experiences of happiness. When I lump this all together, my self-esteem is low. This low self-esteem doesn't lend me to having a lot of intestinal fortitude, and I think this is what it takes to get off nasty drugs and instead help yourself via natural substances.
I'm not sure if I've said enuf' or spoken anything unclearly, but pls feel free babblemail me if so. I just began a new med (See!) yesterday and I'm feeling a little 'out of body' sort of thing. I've never been psychotic, but the pressures in my life currently have led to quit complaining about my fear of a certain type of drug and give it a try.
Don't 'lose your life to these nasty drugs' as I have. If u stay on the road you're on, it's likely people will judge you. (This is how I feel about myself. I think I'm a failure and a disappointment to my fam' of origin. They invalidate me. They're coming close to pushing me out of the family. (A mental illness, and when I say this I'm not saying you have a mental illness, but rather I think I've suffered some damage as a result of meds for so many years. Anyway, mental illness is not visible and you can talk until you've lost your voice and still not convince a person 'you thought loved you unconditionally' you are ill.)
Guess what? Think I found some of the post I thought deleted. Sorry but maybe I said something worth adding so here's more as follow:
Quitting and using alternatives and hooking up w/ others who've done the same could very well allow you to come back to the real world you remember.
I'm not saying there won't be any discomfort obviously. And, there will be stressors in your life in the future, but w/ the knowledge of what you're in right now, I don't think you'd choose this door again.
I'm not sure you need this kind of support, but thought I'd throw it out here for u to think about.
Oh, and b4 deleted, the mag/calcium is an issue you shouldn't deny yourself. I began Country Life Mag Caps (as mag oxide, aspartate, citrate, alpha-ketoglutarate, taurinate) 300mg w/ silica. They are preservative free, vegetarian capsules. The cal/mag ratio is 2:1 I believe and hope some1 will correct me if I'm wrong. This alternative wasn't expensive and is great. I could feel it working right away. My problem is I don't have in my traits, at least not now, 'a lot of intestinal fortitude', especially when my self-esteem is as low as it is at this particular time. I broke up w/ a man I'd been seeing 13yrs. I need to set this bottle of magnesium and get my calcium and put them somewhere I'll trip over them or something!(?)
Website for mag caps is country-life.com, but found at a local private health food store.
Don't want your thread moved to Alternative, so won't mention this any further. Feel free to babble if u wish.
For me, SSRIs 'increase' my level of anxiety. Maybe others have shared this same occurrence w/ you.
bestwishes, 5f
ps: Sorry about losing the psot and then I think maybe finding it down here at the bottom. Don't mean to waste your time.
Posted by Phillipa on August 23, 2007, at 19:44:38
In reply to Re: Getting OFF the meds, Anyone else doing it?, posted by sam123 on August 23, 2007, at 10:14:51
Interesting and frustrating why they work for some people and not others. Personally I feel my autoimmune issues and old chronic lymes lend to meds not working for me. Phillipa
This is the end of the thread.
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